An Alt+Tab app-switching icons issue

This may sound trivial, but it's really bothering me.
When I switch apps with Alt+Tab under GNOME, there is this low resolution image-missing icon, for certain programs.
And I don't really mind those few programs not having their own icons, it's the low res generic one that I'm annoyed with.
So, ok- I went out to search for this icon's source, and I actually found out that these image-missing icons reside in /usr/share/icons/gnome/<RESOLUTION>/status directories.
And, to my surprise there is actually a perfectly good 256x256 .png image in its appropriate directory, called image-missing.png
Worse still, I tried to remove (and backup) all the low res ones, leaving only the 256x256 one in place, but to no avail.
Somebody care to explain all this to me?
Thanks.
Last edited by abraxyz (2012-11-17 19:39:26)

I am still having this issue. I've noticed it on my old iMac with a wired keyboard and mouse, my new iMac with a wired keyboard and magic mouse and lastly my MPB, with obviously a built in keyboard and mouse. It's not a failed USB device or failed hardware IMO. It is more likely a bug with SL or a third party app.
Though I personally don't run any third party apps in the background other than Dropbox.
Has anyone else out there still been seeing this issue?
I actually took a short video of it happening tonight, you can see it here:
http://vimeo.com/23304748
I'm running OS X 10.6.7. Thanks for any insight or help.

Similar Messages

[SOLVED] Alt+Tab window switcher in KDE4.4 - no compositing effects

It's just one of these small nagging things: I cannot get the Alt+Tab window switcher to display a cover flow effect in KDE4.4. Compositing works well otherwise - present windows, the rotating cube etc. Only the window switcher keeps showing me a boring vertical list of thumbnails.
I've tried with a new user - same story.
Has anyone else seen this and/or heard of a fix?
It used to work in 4.3 (TM)
Last edited by grey (2010-02-17 17:13:34)

@ploub: thanks - that worked.
It turns out that if you change the settings in Window behaviour / Navigate through windows, they get updated in Desktop / Desktop Effects / All Effects / Focus. However, if you enable a setting in the latter area (as was done in 4.3), nothing happens.
An interesting choice of user interface design: create an additional place for the user to modify certain settings, keep the original place and make the latter not work.
Last edited by grey (2010-02-17 18:10:28)

Any setting to use alt+tab for switching adobe and other file ?

any setting to use alt+tab for switching adobe and other file ? instead of opening a adobe file agin and agin?
thanks.
really hate using win8...........................

i mean ..can adobe fild open it in a normal way like win7 did...
so i can use alt+tab to switch task easily..

Command-Tab App Switcher doesn't work (related to corrupt .plist file error?)

Hi folks,
The other day, Drive Genius 4 reported on a file corruption: ~/Library/Preferences/System Mac.plist file. I tried to find the file but it didn't appear to exist.
Today, a strange phenomenon occurred which I think may be related. Strangest thing. I was using Safari, had several tabs open when, suddenly, I lost all input to any links in Safari and system wide as well, other than the cursor being able to move around the display. This dysfunction also included the Command-Tab App Switcher, though they keyboard text function still worked. I could enter text in fields.
I tried Force Quit Apps but I had to shutdown and reboot using the Power button. The reboot seemed to remedy the situation and most controls and keyboard functions returned except for the Command-Tab App Switcher.
In Safari, I used History/Restore Last Open Page, and when the searched for pages came up, they were blank - I was informed that there was no internet connection. Wi-Fi showed still on but grayed out, which could be logical. Also, this is when I noticed that the key repeat function wasn’t working. In System Prefs, I did manage to change the key repeat rate, which accelerates the backspace erase function but there is no key repeat, itself.
All of this, of course, might be pointing to that system file error. Whether it is that hidden Mac.plist file corruption I don’t know.
In any event, first thing I did was to run Permissions Repair. At one point, about 2/3rds of the way in, the progress bar hung for a few minutes and then finished the last third in a split second. In the Repair Permissions log there was no /Mac.plist file among those repaired.
Additionally in Sys Prefs, I tested for Tab key response by refocusing the radio buttons in the Full Keyboard Access option under Keyboard/Shortcuts panel from "Text boxes and lists only" to "All controls.” The refocus worked because now pressing Tab does move the cursor through every control. But still no Command-Tab App Switcher. In Spotlight, I did find the App Switcher.app but it would not open, because it is “Damaged or Missing.” App Switcher preferences are also not accessible.
In Terminal I changed directories and do see the /Mac.plist file under discussion. I suppose I could -rm the file but I’m reluctant without knowing more about what other anomalies might result. The App Switcher is one of the Mac’s best utilities (thanks to er, Microsoft.) If the /Mac.plist file will refresh from the current status, no problem, I would think.
Has anyone experienced anything like this? Any suggestions? Thanks a whole lot in advance for your time and consideration in this!
All best,
David

First, get rid of the worthless, time-wasting "Drive Genius" according to its developer's instructions. Never install any so-called "utility" again.
Don't waste time repairing permissions again, either, unless you have an indication of a permission error involving system files, which you don't and probably never will.
Never delete any file in the shell (Terminal) for any reason.
There is no built-in application called "App Switcher." There is no built-in file named "System Mac.plist" either.
If command-tab application switching still doesn't work after you get rid of "Drive Genius," see below.
Please read this whole message before doing anything.
This procedure is a test, not a solution. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.
Step 1
The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account.
Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. Don't use the Safari-only “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac.”
While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your documents or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this behavior; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.
Test while logged in as Guest. Same problem?
After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.
*Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault, then you can’t enable the Guest account. The “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac” is not the same. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing.
Step 2
The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login, by a peripheral device, by a font conflict, or by corruption of the file system or of certain system caches.
Please take this step regardless of the results of Step 1.
Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards, if applicable. Start up in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem. You must hold down the shift key twice: once when you turn on the computer, and again when you log in.
Note: If FileVault is enabled in OS X 10.9 or earlier, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for further instructions.
Safe mode is much slower to start up and run than normal, with limited graphics performance, and some things won’t work at all, including sound output and Wi-Fi on certain models. The next normal startup may also be somewhat slow.
The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
Test while in safe mode. Same problem?
After testing, restart as usual (not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of Steps 1 and 2.

[Solved] Alt-Tab window switching no longer working after update (JWM)

The next issue I am trying to straighten out after a recent, long-overdue pacman -Syu, is the loss of window-switching functionality using the alt-tab key combination. This is under the JWM window manager, by the way. The alt key seems to work as expected when, for example, firefox has focus: if I hit alt left arrow, the browser goes back to the preceding page. But if I hit alt and tab together, say, in the browser or when a terminal has focus, it seems to be read as though I were pressing only the tab key. So, with two windows maximized on the desktop, the alt-tab combination does not toggle between them. If the terminal has focus I can see the cursor jumping over a tab space each time I press the key combination.
Can anyone offers pointers on how I might resolve or begin diagnosing this issue? I should mention that another change I did in the wake of the update was to make the system log me in and start the GUI each time I boot the machine (as discussed at https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/St … h_profile). I'm not sure why that would have any effect but I thought I should mention it. I think this is just a pretty standard pc105 keyboard by the way.
Input will be appreciated.
Thanks,
James
Last edited by jamtat (2013-02-01 17:07:32)

Thank you for your input, anonymous_user. I decided, on reading it, to compare my .jwmrc with the /etc/system.jwmrc file. I noted that, in my .jwmrc, the keybindings section was empty, while that section in the /etc/system.jwmrc had several entries--and even one that seemed to refer to the alt-tab key combination. So I copied that section into my .jwmrc, restarted JWM, and the key combination now seems to be working as it should. Granted, it's a bit strange in that it doesn't open some kind of dialog box with the names of open windows, showing you in list form the windows you're scrolling through. But it does take you to other open windows when, after you've hit the tab key one or more times, you release the alt key. So the issue is resolved and was pretty simple.
James

Why is the CMD-TAB app switcher still unable to properly focus apps?

On my MacBook Pro running OSX Lion 10.7.5, and on previous versions of OSX, I've noticed a very strange defect in the way the graphical environment switches applications.
To reproduce the problem, I open three apps (it does not seem to matter what apps are opened). At least two of the apps are on the same mission control (previously space) desktop so that they overlap. When I use CMD-TAB to switch between the same two apps on different miss.ctl. desktops, very often, as in, about every other switch, the app I'm switching to is underneath another application's window. It fails to rise to the top of the stack.
It is not regular. That is, sometimes the switched-to window does rise to the top. About half the time, it does not. This makes the app switcher a capricious interruption when I'm programming. I used to use spaces 2D spacial layout to spread out my windows and avoid the buggy behavior, but Apple jettisoned that with Lion.
I don't know if this is a problem with OSX's GUI, the libraries, or with the way developers write applications, but it has been a long standing issue. Has anyone else experienced this? It seems like it should have been fixed by now.
Anyone have any clues or fixes ?

Never mind. Apparently a duplicate of other threads. Possible fix: update the defective OSX Lion to Mountain Lion.

Alt-Tab Causes Run-away Icons

Catchy title, but true. When I click Alt-Tab to switch between apps, the icons blink and alternate very quickly. I can still switch programs, but usually I "miss" and another app opens up - like Bridge. Not a show-stopper, but very annoying.

I've seen video driver issues do similar, though "missing" the app has not usually part of that.
Now, for some questions:
1.) do you have Window Blinds?
2.) is Aero on?
3.) is Sidebar on?
4.) what video card and driver version?
5.) do you have the MS InteliPoint mouse driver installed?
Good luck,
Hunt

Blurry icons in Cmd-TAB Application Switcher

Hello.
As I constantly use the Cmd-TAB app.switcher, it kind of bothers me that one specific application keeps showing a blurry icon (probably resized 128x128 instead of the 512x512). I know this is a known buggy behaviour since Leopard, but it should often be OK after a restart.
Mine doesn't, and what's even stranger : in another user account the icon works fine every time I launch this application.
Resetting the PRAM didn't work. Could the problem be some cache file ? If so, how to resolve it ?
TIA

Create a new admin user account, log into it, launch a few apps, CMD+tab, and see if looks normal. If so, open the new user's Preferences folder, make a list of those files, log back into the mucked up user account, move those same plist files to an empty Desktop folder, log out and back in, and see if that fixes things. If so, then delete the moved files and reset the preferences for the things on the list.

Alt+Tab broken in full screen mode

Hi,
I generally use lightroom in full screen mode where the title and menu bar are both hidden. However, when in this mode I find using Alt+Tab is broken. For example, say I have LR as the foreground application. I press Alt+Tab and switch to another app. Then press Alt+Tab once expecting to get back to LR. But somehow LR has gone to the end of the list and instead I get another application.
Is anyone else seeing this? I use WinXP+SP2+latest updates.
Thanks,
Nick

There are different types of full-screen mode. If in the other applications, you see the Minimize/Restore/Close buttons in the top right-hand corner, then that is not the full screen mode being used by Lightroom, which you'll notice, does not have those buttons available.
The other applications are actually maximized, and not in full-screen mode.
John Gregson

Microsoft Excel 2010 alt-tab causes part of screen to freeze

One of my clients is having the issue above. When he opens 2 different Excel applications, and starts doing usual work, which involves copy-paste from one Excel to the other one, and changes between them using alt-tab, then all of a sudden part of one Excels
screen freezes and you can see the cells being at the wrong place. When you minimize the window and then come back to it, then it's fixed, or when you scroll down and back up it will fix itself. I have found other people having the same problem on the forum,
but the only thing I haven't tried is getting a new graphics card installed instead of the Intel HD one. I even tried uninstalling the Intel HD driver, letting Windows use some default driver, but the problem persisted even then.
The machine has Windows 7 installed, Office 2010. Hardware is standard Lenovo T420.
Since I've tried everything and the problem is still not fixed I'm hoping for some more ideas.
PS: I'm 100% sure not using alt-tab would fix the issue, or reverting to Office 2007, but those fixes are not acceptable for my client.

check out thread below, it suggests this thing:
I experienced the exact thing you are describing and it was very annoying. I eventually found an
option under File - Options - Advanced, in the Display category, called "Show all windows in the Taskbar". Uncheck this and alt-tab will stop trying to interpret each spreadsheet in the same instance of Excel as a different application. Then
to switch between spreadsheets in the same excel instance, use ctrl-tab instead.
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windows/en-US/c3e73faf-81fa-425a-95d7-d33219d8ff02/multiple-instances-of-the-same-excel-document-in-alttab-list?forum=w7itproui
Every second counts..make use of it. Disclaimer: This posting is provided AS IS with no warranties or guarantees and confers no rights.
IT Stuff Quick Bytes

T410 - UltraNav 15.1.19 - Alt + Tab hang on first swipe.

I am noticing that right after I use Alt-Tab to switch windows, my first swipe on the touchpad usually doesn't work.
This is frustrating since I do Alt-Tab all the time.
Any fix for this?
edit on topic to match discussion.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Hi James,
I started writing a reply and was going to say that, after my keyboard had been replaced (two times was the charm) and all of the Smart Check Settings unchecked, this was the remaining issue.
Then I wondered if I did indeed uncheck all the Smart Check Settings. That's when I tinkered with the only one I can't turn off...PalmCheck.
Voila! If I set PalmCheck to minimum or close to minimum, I don't experience this issue. However, I believe factory setting is near the maximum.
I have tested so much for Lenovo, I should be on its payroll :-) I think Lenovo really needs to do much more testing before rolling out its products. Especially with all these input device issues, which I thought (before I got my ThinkPad) was supposed to be ThinkPad's strong point. It turns out, due to a variety of problems (defective hardware, bad drivers, bad settings), I have never had a worse experience with input devices in all my years of owning computers. This is a fact, not an exaggeration....
At least I got this one finally figured out :-)

Alt Tabbing out of Games take very long

Alt-tabbing out of games take very long... about 5 seconds... the screen turns black i never had this problem in win 7 or 8.1.
I just installed win 10 on my laptop too see if this problem exists there... it doesnt :D
Someone got an Solution?
4770k
16gig Ram
780Ti
MSI Mpower MB

Hi,
" I just installed win 10 on my laptop too see if this problem exists there...
it doesnt :D"
Does this issue happen in Windows 10 Technical Preview or not?
If you don't start the game, and press alt-tab to switch between other applications, does it have a delay?
Meanwhile, update the graphic driver to make the game more smoothly.
Or it's game ot hardware related, see some explanation in the link below
http://www.howtogeek.com/181761/why-pc-games-struggle-with-alttab-and-how-to-fix-it/
NOTE
This
response contains a reference to a third party World Wide Web site. Microsoft is providing this information as a convenience to you.
Microsoft
does not control these sites and has not tested any software or information found on these sites.
Yolanda Zhu
TechNet Community Support

Why Do the App Switcher and Dock Hide Running Apps?

I've come to realize—to my great annoyance—that the behavior of the command-tab app switcher has changed.
If I have an app launched that has no documents currently open, the app doesn't appear in the app switcher or the dock. The only way I can see it's open is by looking at DragThing, my third-party launcher. Since I return to Pages and Preview throughout the day, opening and closing documents as I need them, this is really an inconvenience for me.
Does anyone know of a way to disable this behavior and have both command-tab and the dock show all running apps the way it always did before Mavericks?

Because my dock's already too full with apps that are even more frequently used. Using the app switcher became part of my workflow long ago, and I'm sorry to lose it.

Screen restoration after ALT+TAB

Hi,
I'm writting an application with 2D graphics in the full-screen mode. If I press ALT+TAB to switch to another window and then another ALT+TAB to go back to my application, I can see only a white screen. I have no idea what is wrong. Here is my code.
GraphicsDevice graphicsDevice = GraphicsEnvironment
          .getLocalGraphicsEnvironment().getDefaultScreenDevice();
JFrame screen = new JFrame();
screen.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
screen.setIgnoreRepaint(true);
screen.setUndecorated(true);
screen.setResizable(false);
graphicsDevice.setFullScreenWindow(screen);
graphicsDevice.setDisplayMode(new DisplayMode(
          800, 600, 16, DisplayMode.REFRESH_RATE_UNKNOWN));
screen.createBufferStrategy(2);
BufferStrategy bufferStrategy = screen.getBufferStrategy();
while (!done) {
     if (bufferStrategy.contentsLost() && !bufferStrategy.contentsRestored()) {
          System.out.println("skip");
          continue;
     System.out.println("draw");
     Graphics graphics = bufferStrategy.getDrawGraphics();
     try {
          //render the screen
     } finally {
          graphics.dispose();
     bufferStrategy.show();
}After the second ALT+TAB bufferStrategy.contentsLost() is always true and bufferStrategy.contentsRestored() is always false. (i.e. I get only the "skip" debug message so the rendering commands are executed no more.)
Thanks for any help.

Hi,
Why do you have the whole '!bufferStrategy.contentsRestored()' part in 'if (bufferStrategy.contentsLost() && !bufferStrategy.contentsRestored())' at all? Wouldn't your code work without it and the screen would paint? I can't see why you would skip the paint if contentsRestored() is false.
Anyway, I use a VolatileImage to do the same thing as a BufferStrategy and it works in full screen mode or normal window mode. This is the code and it sits in a Canvas class:
     int currentWidth = 0;
     int currentHeight = 0;
     Graphics2D g2D = null;
    VolatileImage vImg = null;
    boolean hasBeenResized = false;
     public void reDisplay(Scenario scenario){
          if (hasBeenResized || vImg == null){
               System.out.println("hasBeenResized == true");
               currentWidth = getWidth();
               currentHeight = getHeight();
               vImg = createVolatileImage(currentWidth, currentHeight);
               hasBeenResized = false;
          g2D = (Graphics2D)getGraphics();
          do {
               renderOffscreen(scenario);
               int returnCode = vImg.validate(getGraphicsConfiguration());
               if (returnCode == VolatileImage.IMAGE_RESTORED) {
                    // Contents need to be restored
                    renderOffscreen(scenario);      // restore contents
               else if (returnCode == VolatileImage.IMAGE_INCOMPATIBLE) {
                    // old vImg doesn't work with new GraphicsConfig; re-create it
                    vImg = createVolatileImage(getWidth(), getHeight());
                    renderOffscreen(scenario);
               g2D.drawImage(vImg,0,0,this);
          } while (vImg.contentsLost());
          g2D.dispose();
     void renderOffscreen(Scenario scenario){
          do {
               if (vImg.validate(getGraphicsConfiguration()) == VolatileImage.IMAGE_INCOMPATIBLE){
                    // old vImg doesn't work with new GraphicsConfig; re-create it
                    vImg = createVolatileImage(currentWidth, currentHeight);
               Graphics2D g2D = vImg.createGraphics();
               render(scenario, g2D);
               g2D.dispose();
          } while (vImg.contentsLost());
     void render(Scenario scenario, Graphics2D g2D){
          // painting code here
     }I hope it helps,
Keith

10.7 Alt tab looses redirection when desktop closed

I often use alt tab to switch between applications. If I open a number of applications in one desktop and then switch the applications to fullscreen. I can switch between the applications using alt-tab. When I close the desktop from Mission control, the alt tab no longer redirects to the application. I guess it is a feature bug that may have residual effects on other programs.

I have figured it out. The checkbox in mission control for "When switching to an application, switch to a space with open windows for the application" needs to be checked.

An Alt+Tab app-switching icons issue

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for